Drug Hating Philippines Is Attempting to Legalize Medical Marijuana

The Philippines may be next to legalize medical marijuana with the backing of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). Currently, the Philippines has some of the harshest drug laws in the world. In 2016, president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, vowed to show no mercy to drug dealers and users and to continue his mass murdering of drug criminals.

House Bill 180, also called the Philippine Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, was passed by the House Committee on Health during its first reading, reports CNN Philippines. The lower house wants to make some changes and Director General Aaron Aquino wants to see better regulations and control measures.

Aquino said, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency “recognizes the need of patients to have access to safe, affordable, available medical cannabis.”

Aquino wants specifics in place and only wishes to see capsules or tablet forms of medical marijuana allowed. He also stated that doctors prescribing patients for medical marijuana should have a doctor-patient relationship and be able to prove it.

Aquino said, “The cultivation, possession, use, sale, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of cannabis not in accordance with the provisions of the Act will be deemed a violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.”

Isabela First District Representative Rodolfo Albano authored House Bill 180. He stressed that the bill is not for recreational marijuana legalization. He said, “Marijuana is still considered as a dangerous drug and all the laws pertaining to the use of marijuana and the planting of marijuana is not decriminalized.”